East Beach Habitat Restoration Project

Restoration of the native coastal dune aids in the formation and stabilization of sand dunes, supports local birds and wildlife, and honors Santa Barbara’s unique coastal ecology.

The Project has three distinct phases:

The first phase involved solarization, a process where a black tarp was placed over non-native plants to heat up and kill the plants and seeds.  This work occurred from September 2023 - December 2023. 

The second phase involved the removal of non-native plants and installation of irrigation, fencing, native plants and seeds. This work occurred from December 2023 - January 2024. 

The third phase entails a five-year maintenance period (2024-2029) where plants, irrigation, and fencing will be maintained. At the end of the maintenance period, the irrigation and fencing will be removed.

Funding for this project is provided by the Water Resources Capital Program.

The Project’s plant palette was specially selected by a qualified biologist with decades of experience with coastal restoration utilizing local flora. The palette has native species that aid in the formation and stabilization of dunes and support Santa Barbara’s unique coastal ecology.   All plants were grown from seeds that were collected from local sources including Cabrillo Bridge, UCSB Campus Point Lagoon, Ellwood Beach, and UCSB Coal Oil Point Reserve. The Project was reviewed and approved by the California Coastal Commission.

The dunes will fill in with five different species of plants, ranging in height between one and four feet. At the completion of the five-year maintenance phase of the work, the City will remove the sand fence and irrigation. 

Ice plant is a coastal succulent shrub native to the coast of South Africa. Ice plant was introduced to California in the early 1900s as an erosion stabilization tool used on railroad tracks and later used by Caltrans on roadsides. Unfortunately, ice plant spreads easily and has become invasive in coastal California from north of Humboldt County to as far south as Baja California. 

This specific area of East Beach was selected due to the dense presence of ice plant and relatively wide section of ice plant adjacent to the multiuse path adjacent to the soccer fields.